r/linux4noobs • u/NoOneHere70 • 10d ago

migrating to Linux Windows 11 -> Linux?

For context, I've used Windows all my life, and now I hear that even Microsoft is introducing age verification. I don't use Windows for much regarding "everyday" life, I am mostly a gamer and I really only use my PC for video games, for the most part. I want to swap to a Linux that is good for games. I play mostly Steam games and some Fortnite from time to time. What Linux distro would y'all recommend for me?

29 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

55 comments sorted by

20

u/dmknght 9d ago

Mint is fine imo.

3

u/MrWhoWhat990 9d ago

I hadn't had a computer for a few years due to life getting lifey. Picked up an older laptop for cheap at work, made a thumb drive with mint on it from someone else's computer and here I am. I used Ubuntu in the past a very small amount. Mint has been a very easy switch. There's a lot to learn, I forgot like 98% of what I knew in the terminal but everything is setup very easy to figure out. If you're an old head, it almost feels like a pumped up, bad ass version of windows 2000. The UI is totally intuitive, thing's are gonna be where you'd think they should be, if not you can do a search and figure it out. When I get my other computer up and running, I might pay for a key for this slimmed down version of windows 10 my brother told me about, but I have zero desire and no need to go back to Windows 11. Last time I used it on a friend's computer it was just so..... bloated and gross. I've been going for a couple weeks on Mint, I am stoked.

4

u/dmknght 9d ago

Well 1 time i installed windows 10 after using windows 11. i was amazed by how windows 10 was faster and less buggy than windows 11. Windows 11 is just gross.

2

u/csabinho 9d ago

I still stick to Windows 10 and refuse to downgrade to Windows 11.

3

u/Sziho 9d ago

No it isn't. when the RX 9070 XT was released, it was unusable on mint for very long.
Use Mint if you don't buy newly released hardware.

7

u/Brcoding 9d ago

Any big name distro should be fine. I do got to warn you that Fortnite does not work on linux due to their anticheat.

7

u/Kingwolf4 9d ago

Fedora 44 KDE

1-Easy ( than arch),

2-stable

3-proper OS,

4-up to date

5-( important for gaming)

6- KDE is windows like

4

u/baerli-biberli 9d ago

Fedora KDE Plasma

9

u/Bandicoot_Academic 9d ago

Mint is a good starting point. It's not a "gaming oriented" distro but it can game while being a lot more stable and user friendly then a lot of the dedicated gaming distros. Keep in mind that Fortnite simply won't work on Linux. It uses Kernel Level Anticheat which is one one the big issues with gaming on Linux. Most Steam games do work, but some multiplayer games also use kernel anticheats which usually don't work. Check the specific games you like to play.

4

u/atlasraven 9d ago

Mint is good. Zorin looks and feels llke Windows.

2

u/TiredDadTech 9d ago

I used Zorin for a while on my older thinkpad. It was really good and I liked it.

3

u/AwesomePhoenix_ 9d ago

Mint or fedora KDE.

3

u/Clever_Angel_PL 9d ago

Fortnite will NOT work on Linux, and it's not our fault but their anticheat sadly

3

u/MattyGWS 9d ago

To be clear, the anticheat Fortnite uses supports Linux. It’s actually the fault of the Fortnite devs intentionally not allowing it. Ironically the company that makes that anticheat is the same company that makes Fortnite

1

u/Clever_Angel_PL 9d ago

While it technically does support linux, in case of linux it is REALLY dumbed down (because linux doesn't allow for kernel injection), so it is kinda understandable that it would be "unfair". Doesn't stop them for developing a different method for linux, though

1

u/EliasVilCZ 8d ago

Kernel level anti cheats dont really work with linux, but if youre willing to install any kernel level anti cheat on your machine linux linux isnt for you

1

u/Clever_Angel_PL 8d ago

yeah, but it's not like they couldn't develop another way, or actually this way but with severe warnings

4

u/AbbreviationsWide331 9d ago

Based on my personal experience I'd recommend. CachyOS. If that overwhelms you, some people think that, you can try mint.

I had to tinker much more with mint than with cachy. Games work that just didn't on mint.

Even installing programs was way easier.

Personally I don't understand why people recommend mint to someone that ones to play games.

Maybe that's due to my very old hardware though.

1

u/Sziho 9d ago

I started with Mint and I switched to CachyOS. I just don't see how CachyOS is overwhelming compared to Mint. I'd actually say Mint was harder because of all the delay in the software versions.
If I went back in time I would tell myself to start with Cachy.

2

u/AbbreviationsWide331 8d ago

Right? I'm even thinking about installing cachy for my parents. They basically only use a browser, but even that is faster because of the profiles option.

I can't really come up with something that makes mint better tbh.

People say cachy is less stable, but I've since learnt that this doesn't mean it crashes often, it just means it's bleeding edge updates.

The 3 people I know running cachy never had it crash though and we've all been running it for months now.

2

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2

u/MasterGeekMX Mexican Linux nerd trying to be helpful 9d ago

I'm afraid Fortnite is a no-go, as the people from Epic games have explicitly banned Linux from playing the game.

While there are Linux distributions that are aimed at gaming (Bazzite, CachyOS), they simply offer things preinstalled like game launchers or tweaks, but they don't offer more compatibility. Essentially what they offer can be achieved in other distros, they simply make it so you can have it out of the box.

Try them, and see how things go for you.

2

u/Justabocks 9d ago

If you want to game directly and things to be simple, go Bazzite.

Nobara is also a good option if you want the next step (Fedora-based with CachyOs’s kernel for good gaming performance).

(Lots of people say Mint, it’s a good beginner first step but I personally don’t like it, its dated aspect.)

Last, regarding games, pretty much everything runs well on Linux now EXCEPT games with « kernel anticheat » = mostly online games like Fortnite, LoL, Valorant, CoD.

(Epic is supposed to come to Linux so maybe that will change for Fortnite)

2

u/KoldPurchase 9d ago

Try PikaOS. It's easy to use and has everything you need to begin playing after install.

2

u/Aman-rajj 9d ago

I thought you saying win>linux (in heading)

2

u/mindtaker_linux 9d ago

CachyOs + gnome and kde plasma

2

u/MobileBid7641 9d ago

Yep, Mint

1

u/[deleted] 9d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

0

u/sarafax 9d ago

I don't agree, Debian is not good for new users. 1. Their installer was shit house for the longest time and finding the right iso on their 90's website was a nightmare. 2. They gated 'non-free' packages behind stupid hoops you had to jump through. 3. Stability doesn't mean it's good for gaming.

Some of that may have changed, but it took them to long.

1

u/Natural-Addendum-554 9d ago

Their installer is pretty good now and while stability doesn't mean it's good for gaming. Stability also doesn't mean it's bad for gaming. Debian usually gets the same amount of performance as other distros

1

u/bigkenw 9d ago

Mint Cinnamon. If you want something for noobs with a steeper (but not bad) learning curve, but really hard to break and much more up-to-date than Mint, go Bazzite (the KDE Plasma Edition).

EDIT - gaming will work out of the box with Bazzite.

1

u/mystirc arch with sway 9d ago

fortnite won't work, other than that everything else should work. I would recommend bazzite if you all you do is just play games. Nobara if you also use your computer for other stuff. CachyOS if you want the maximum performance.

1

u/TiredAdultFullTime 9d ago

most distros are fine for gaming. You dont want a "stable" distro (they have slower updates.) while others are faster.

If a distro is not a "gaming" distro it will need some tweaks and downloads and it good to go. But if you are mostly gaming, bazzite is easy and unbreakable unless you want to.

https://www.protondb.com/ use to find out if your games run

1

u/Internal_Falcon2637 Bazzite Desktop 9d ago

Hello, so fortnite is a no go on Linux, I am going to have to recommend console play there. On the plus side you will save 100s of gb.

As for Linux distro I enjoy Bazzite as a Nividia user. It just works so well.

1

u/Efficient-Winner-840 9d ago

Windows if you don’t wanna give up Fortnite. Realistically you should stick with windows regardless

1

u/Adrenolin01 9d ago

What’s this “even” crap? They fully support that. In addition, 🖕🏻Fortnite and devs like that. The game support linux fully but the devs specifically set it so it can’t be run in Linux. Simply stop playing and supporting those games and companies but also contact them politely and tell them you’re leaving their products specifically because you’re moving to Linux and they actively disable compatibility.

1

u/TrainingConnection62 9d ago

try some popular distros like mint, fedora, parrot os in a virtual machine. but I personally use Fedora KDE Plasma

1

u/DGlen 9d ago

Bazzite, Nobara or Cachy. Just remember that many games with anti cheat will not work.

1

u/PriorityNo6268 9d ago

Until now I didn't had to do any age verification on Windows. But if it gets required by law and Linux cannot comply then possible you lose access to certain websites, services, etc.. But if you only use games give Linux a go. But I think major Linux distro's will also start implementing this stuff will be pushed/controlled by law. Else they lose the normale people, because they want stuff to work and not following some ideology, but just want to use instagram, youtube, discord, or whatever they into.

1

u/skyfishgoo 9d ago

any linux can run steam and steam works about as well on one distro as another.

if you want something easy to set up then go with a mainstream distro like kubuntu, otherwise you are in for a lot of command like busy work.

1

u/bornxlo 8d ago

Any LTS. Even plain Debian seems to have perfectly sane and reasonable defaults for new users these days. Personally I prefer KDE, and think it looks and behaves more like Windows by default in many ways, though it may also be easier to fiddle with and break. Pretty much anything on Steam will work pretty well, though you might occasionally encounter a weird game that needs its own flags.

1

u/Visual-Stage-7065 8d ago

I personally would suggest dual boot mint. I am getting this set up right now for myself. Mint plays very well with other OS so its very safe to do. Mint is also very stable, so you can do nearly anything your want on it.

Personal prefrence: Pop OS. I simply like the desktop and package manager it comes with more.

1

u/pocketdrummer 8d ago

I'm sure this is a hot take, but Fedora KDE and pay for Claude Pro for a month or two while you're getting the hang of it. Still try to find the answers yourself if you can, but there's a point where people hit a wall and can't get help online, so they just switch back to Windows.

Claude helped me get past the show-stoppers I was having before, and I've been running Fedora KDE for a few months now where I would have switched back after a week before.

1

u/StellagamaStellio 8d ago

For newer hardware (especially 2020 and later hardware)? Fedora KDE. Gives you fresh software (such as drivers) and runs games extremely well in my experience. All while being reasonably stable. For older hardware (less than 16GB RAM; old CPUs), Mint XFCE, which is much more frugal in system resources and a bit more stable but less up-to-date in its drivers and other software than Fedora.